Characterisation of Fibre Metal Laminates in Thermomechanical Loadings

Fibre metal laminates, such as Arall or Glare, can offer improved properties compared to monolithic materials. However, the effect of temperature on the performance of the fibre metal laminates has not been fully characterised. A detailed understanding of the behaviour of these laminates is necessary for further improvement of their performance and durability. In this thesis, the thermo-mechanical behaviour of fibre metal laminates has been characterised via experimental testing and numerical modelling. Experimental tests have been performed to determine the temperature-dependent thermal and mechanical behaviour of unidirectional (UD) glass- fibre epoxy. The UD glass-fibre epoxy data is used as input for the finite element model, together with aluminium 2024-T3 data from the literature. The thermo-mechanical solid-like shell element and the experimentally obtained material data, presented in this thesis, together create a powerful simulation tool for the effective and accurate characterisation of fibre metal laminates under thermo-mechanical loadings.

Autorentext

Michiel Hagenbeek graduated at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering of the Delft University of Technology. He joined the Glare Research Group and parallel to this started his Ph.D. research. He is author of about 30 scientific publications in the field of analytical and numerical modelling and testing of fibre metal laminates.